Chester Flyers: Season Rewind
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We are talking all things Flyers in this Season Review article! Chester won 12 games this season and they had a high-quality playoff win over a tough Canistota team. The Howard Tigers knocked Chester out of the playoffs in the…
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Continue ReadingWe are talking all things Flyers in this Season Review article! Chester won 12 games this season and they had a high-quality playoff win over a tough Canistota team. The Howard Tigers knocked Chester out of the playoffs in the SoDak 16 Qualifier game. It just so happens that Howard is playing in the State Championship game tomorrow. The Flyers played a loaded schedule this year, they improved as a team, and made some great memories. Congrats on a fun and successful season!
See below for team stats and player numbers. We also have a Q&A session with coach Gale, he gave us some great feedback and you need to check it out!
Team: Chester Area
Mascot: Flyers
Head Coach: Adam Gale
Class: B
Region: 3
Conference: Big East
Record: 12-10
Team Stats
PPG: 50 OPPG: 53 RPG: 26.6 ORPG: 7.9 APG 12.1 FG%: 36 eFG%: 43.1
FGM: 389 2FG%: 42.2 3FGM: 155 3FG%: 29.4 FTM: 162 FT%: 67.8 PPP: .86
Stats Leaders
Jovi Wolf Jovi Wolf 6'0" | SG Chester Area | 2024 State SD (2024) |6’0 G|
GP: 22 PPG: 18.1 RPG: 4.5 APG: 1.5 FG%: 38.7 3FGM: 74 3FG%: 33.5
Jaxton Opdahl Jaxton Opdahl 6'0" | CG Chester | 2026 State SD (2026) |6’0 G|
GP: 22 PPG: 7.5 RPG: 2.4 APG: 1 FG%: 38.8 3FGM: 24 3FG%: 30.8
JD Prorok JD Prorok 6'4" | SF Chester | 2026 State SD (2026) |6’4 F|
GP: 22 PPG: 3 RPG: 6.4 APG: 2.1 FG%: 37.7
Layke Wold Layke Wold 5'10" | CG Chester Area | 2025 State SD (2025) |5’10 G|
GP: 22 PPG: 12.9 RPG: 3.5 APG: 4.1 FG%: 43.1 3FGM: 37 3FG%: 27.8
Zach Moyer Zach Moyer 5'11" | SF Chester | 2026 State SD (2026) |5’11 G|
GP: 22 PPG: 3 RPG: 2 APG: .7 FG%: 34 3FGM: 5 3FG%: 38.5
Brayden Schut (2024) |5’11 F|
GP: 21 PPG: 3.4 RPG: 3 APG: 2.2 FG%: 35.4 3FGM: 12 3FG%: 22.2
Garret Hansen Garret Hansen 6'3" | SF Chester | 2025 State SD (2025) |6’2 F|
GP: 19 PPG: .8 RPG: 1.7 APG: .3 FG%: 26.9
Will Seeley (2025) |6’3 F|
GP: 18 PPG: 1.3 RPG: 1.3 APG: .2 FG%: 32.6
Carter Vogel (2026) |5’11 G|
GP: 7 PPG: .7 RPG: .3 APG: .3 FG%: 50
Q&A with coach Adam Gale
PHD: How would you sum up the season for your squad?
“Like many basketball seasons, it had its ups and its downs. We had a good start to the season at 3-1 and then we ran into a month-long buzzsaw of competition playing some of the better-ranked class B teams (Deubrook, DRSM, De Smet) in addition to some tough A schools (Sioux Valley, Baltic). However, we used those moments to build calluses and learn from what we do well, and what we need to adjust on to form as a team to make a push to end the season and that is exactly what we did winning our final 6 games and 7 of 8 total to end the year. In addition, we avenged a loss to a really good Canistota team in the first round of regions making it to the round of 32 which was a huge win for us as a team but ultimately, we ran into a really great Howard team, and hats off to them on the game they played and their season overall.“
PHD: Do you have any fun memories that you can share with us?
“The final half of the season and winning 7/8 was a fun memory of the season. It was nice to see the boys get rewarded with some wins after a long December/January and it was cool to watch us build our momentum with each win. In addition, winning a crazy and wild double OT game against Parker during the Big East Conference Tournament was also a fun memory.“
PHD: How did your team overcome adversity?
“Knowing we went through a gauntlet of great class B teams in December and then playing Baltic and Sioux Valley each twice within the span of two weeks in January and coming out of that still willing to compete was fun to watch. We appreciate our tough schedule because we know it prepares us for the end of the season. We know that we’ve seen some of the best B and A teams the state has to offer so we’re ready for anything playoff basketball may throw at us.“
“Furthermore, we suffered a tremendous loss to an important member of our community/basketball family and the way we came together as a group and continued to fight on was something I will remember forever and be proud to have been a small part of.“
PHD: What are a few things your team improved on throughout the season?
“We improved in nearly all phases of our game which was great to see for this group and what you want as a Coach. Our on the ball defense significantly improved the 2nd half of the season as well as our overall team defense. Down the stretch, in our final 8 games, we held teams to under 50 points five different times, and when it mattered most we leaned on our defense which is what led to us to winning tight games in February. If you can get stops you can win games and it’s what we did and I was really happy with how we improved in that area.“
PHD: What role players stood out to you?
“ Garret Hansen Garret Hansen 6'3" | SF Chester | 2025 State SD , Will Seeley, and Zach Moyer Zach Moyer 5'11" | SF Chester | 2026 State SD all came off the bench for us throughout the season. Garret and Will were mainly used as post players despite being undersized while Zach was brought in for individual perimeter defense and scoring. All of them at different times in the 2nd half of the season were called on in key moments to come in due to foul trouble or us just needing to make adjustments.“
PHD: Can you talk about your seniors and what will be missed?
“We graduate 2 seniors in Jovi Wolf Jovi Wolf 6'0" | SG Chester Area | 2024 State SD and Brayden Schut. Brayden was our leader and glue guy. He did many things on the floor that are not stats or can be measured. Losing players like Brayden & Jovi is really hard and it’s tough to replace them because of what they do and how they do it. Jovi has been playing significant varsity minutes for nearly 4 years and he was our main scoring option for the last two. He carried us offensively in our toughest times in December/January. He scored nearly 400 points this season, so replacing that from a statistics standpoint will be really hard. In addition to losing someone who has been such a vital part of your program for four years is also difficult. They will both be sorely missed and we have big holes to fill next year.“
PHD: Who are some up-and-comers to look out for?
“Carter Vogel is an incoming junior guard who was a big scoring option in JV games this season and he will be asked to take on a bigger varsity role in 2024/25. In addition, we have 3 freshman varsity members in Teegan Hodne, Micah Oechsle, and Brody Holman who will all get increased JV and Varsity minutes down the road.“
PHD: Who was your best defensive player?
“ Jaxton Opdahl Jaxton Opdahl 6'0" | CG Chester | 2026 State SD emerged as our best on the ball defensive player this year. As the season progressed we as a coaching staff found ourselves wanting Jaxton to be on the other teams best player. The 2nd half of the year he was huge in helping to limit opposing teams’ best scoring options. He did a great job of keeping the ball in front of him and using his length to take away dribble penetration and contest shots. During the 2nd half a majority of the points scored on him were earned and that consistency made him a tough defender and I was very impressed with his progression from last year to this year.“
PHD: Any last comments/thoughts on the season?
“We know we have a tough schedule, especially early, and we played some of the best teams in Class B in addition to our Big East Conference schedule. It’s hard to lose games early and keep a positive outlook on the season and trust that if you keep going you can finish strong but we did that. I always want us playing our best basketball by mid-february regardless of record and for the last 4-5 seasons we have done that and its led us to success in the post season. However, we want that success to take us a little bit further so we can be talking about State Tournament results rather than round of 32 or sweet 16 results, so that is the goal moving forward with this group to take the next step and get over that hump. But we’re in a tough region so it will not be easy so our off-season and preparation going into next year will be huge.”